A Saiyan Named Ace
by gamegirl07
Summary: Well, here goes. I've finally decided to get off my lazy butt and create this story about a certain Saiyan thought up by a friend of mine. His name's Ace. Don't worry, you'll like him well enough. Set in the Dragonball GT time period. Warning: this is an OC story. Enjoy.
1. A Saiyan Named Ace

Chapter 1: A Saiyan Named Ace

Even before the name Kakarot or Goku was uttered by anyone, there was a Saiyan called Ace. He was the first one to be sent to Earth to destroy it, but like Goku, he failed in his endeavor. Not only had he botched his mission, but also managed to find himself utterly immobile, encased in a thick sheet of ice.

No one would come for him and no one would miss him on his home Planet Vegeta. Instead, he was forgotten, forever a lost member of the Saiyan race. Many decades would pass before he would ever walk. As if he were a prisoner to fate, he was not allowed to breathe, not allowed to blink, not allowed even to think.

His time would come when least expected. In a time when Kid Buu was long defeated and Earth enjoyed a longer than usual peace, this was when the ice began to melt. As is a natural occurrence with ice, it will eventually melt and today would be the day when Ace was reawakened.

He found himself on expansive tundra and the temperature was perhaps a little warmer that what was usual for the environment. Of course to a Saiyan, such subtleties made no difference. Ace's coal black eyes looked up to the afternoon sun scrunching at its brilliance. The sun's rays reverberated off the icy surface of the tundra and became a nearly blinding light.

He stood in the warmth of the sun for a while as his wet Saiyan armor began to dry along with his limp, dampened tail. For a moment, he was mesmerized by the scene around him. The white of the ice contrasted sharply with the cloudless azure sky. Ace couldn't remember ever being privy to such striking images on his home planet—he knew he was on some foreign planet.

Yes, the memories came rushing back to him. His mission; that was his foremost thought. It was the entire reason he was on this planet—to eradicate all life forms on Earth so that it could be ready for sell.

Yet even as his mind passed over these thoughts, somehow he knew that such an endeavor would prove fruitless. The one thing he wanted to know for certain was: where was his ship. All Saiyan ships had a built in tracking device. A remote that could then utilize this feature was given to the ships occupant if they were old enough make use of it. Ace had been eighteen years old when he was sent on this mission—he had a remote. Miraculously, like him, the remote had survived the long years in the icy prison. He soon fished said remote out of his pocket and pressed the solitary button that would alert the ship and bring it forth.

Ace heard a low rumbling beneath his feet and knew instinctively that the sound was, in fact, coming from the ship. He waited for long minutes, but nothing more occurred. With a sigh, Ace decided on his next course of action. He walked over to the icy edge of the flattened iceberg he was standing on and shot face first into the cold water. Enhanced by his crafty use of ki, he swiftly dove down to the sea bottom where his ship laid. One look at the rusting space pod and Ace knew that it was completely useless unless he could get his hands on some new parts. Even if he could he had no idea how to repair it properly.

Now he realized that he was stranded. A sudden sense of despondency weighed heavily on his shoulders just as he broke the water's surface. Who would he report to? Better yet, where would he live? How would he survive?

One thing was for certain, this planet was his only means of survival. Destroying its inhabitants seemed almost ludicrous at this point—a realization that comforted him rather that frustrated him. Perhaps this dilemma he found himself in was a blessing in the skies.

He glided slowly into the sky taking in the magnificent landscape one last time before zooming off into the world before him.


	2. Breaking the Ice

AN: Shout out to, lil26jay, who created the character Ace in the first place. Hope you don't mind, I took some liberties. The story should be interesting though.

Chapter 2: Breaking the Ice

Such blue skies—it must have been made out of sapphires. As his eyes took in the sight, he came to admire its beauty. Ace, being a Saiyan, had never taken the time to contemplate what exactly his favorite color was, but he knew at this moment that it had to be sapphire. The sky was so far away, so perfect that it radiated an irresistible aura of enigma. Beautiful. He could have stayed there in the sky's close vicinity for hours.

Below, he noticed he was passing over a large body of water. It shimmered brightly as the sun rays struck its surface, beckoning for him to come closer. His curiosity led him to do so—he had never come across such vibrant waters. A small island came into his view; right then and there Ace decided he would land. He envied the little house. Whoever lived there was forever in the presence of beauty and tranquility. Every day the sun would shine on the pristine surface of the water and show off its glossiness. Every day calm waves would massage the strange, soft gravel of the beach.

The wet, squishy texture of the sand was clearly unfamiliar to the Saiyan as he took a moment to take some of it onto his fingers. An odd cool and soft mixture of dirt particles. His eyebrows furrowed in rumination. He soon brushed it off his fingers and continued forth. The first thing he noticed was a rather frightened looking old man sitting on a lounge chair. The very first living presence he had seen on this planet…except Ace was afforded no chance to speak to him as he scrambled off his chair and ran into the little house yelling out a name that sounded exactly like "Vegeta".

And that was when he heard his voice

"Vegeta?" Ace said mostly to himself.

He did not expect to find a man that resembled the child he knew as Vegeta from so many years before (though it felt like yesterday) to step out of the house.

"If only Frieza had known that he had missed so many Saiyans when he claimed he had destroyed Planet Vegeta permanently. Kakarot, Paragus, Broly, Turles, and now you. Well, kid, did you come to destroy Earth like the others?"

Vegeta's tone had been so sardonic and obviously agitated that Ace could have easily missed all the important details he had just disclosed to him in one breath.

"Planet Vegeta—destroyed?" Ace said at once.

Now it was Vegeta's turn to be confused, "Yes, but you knew that already."

"No," Ace said shaking his head, "I…I was sent here to eradicate all life forms on this planet, but my ship won't be able to take me anywhere if I go through with that."

"Don't play games with me, kid. If you were really sent here to do all that, you would've done it already. Why choose now to show yourself?"

"Choose? I didn't choose to do anything. I was sent here to—

"Yeah, yeah, to destroy all life forms. We've been over that and I don't believe you. Could you at least come up with a better lie? Your timing is a little off."

"My timing?"

"Yes, your timing is off. Maybe a few _decades_ ago I might have believed you, but you probably wouldn't have been talking to me. Saiyans are nearly extinct—I doubt we'd still be trying to sell planets after all this time."

"Nearly extinct?"

"Yes, nearly extinct—stop repeating me! Do something useful and give me a name."

"It's Ace."

"Like the…card?" Vegeta asked with a grimace. "What kind of Saiyan name is that?"

"It's _my_ name," Ace retorted.

"Fine, _Ace_. You ready to tell me the truth now?"

Ace knew from then on that his name would always be uttered in a belittling tone at least from him. So what if Ace didn't sound like something from a Caesar salad, Ace thought—a name was a name.

"I've already told you the truth, Vegeta."

Vegeta was taken aback when Ace used his name directly. It only proved that he was indeed a Saiyan and had at some point lived on Planet Vegeta or at least heard of it.

"You're…a full-blooded Saiyan?"

Ace blinked twice caught off guard by the question, "As I've always been."

Vegeta then noticed the tail wrapped securely around his waist. Already, Vegeta had sensed that he was a Saiyan—the tail was another clue. Of course, having a tail was inconclusive since Gohan had been born with it despite his mixed origins. But there was something missing….

His age. He looked far too young to be a full-blooded Saiyan originally from Planet Vegeta.

"And you were raised on Planet Vegeta?"

"Yes…" Ace answered growing wary of his questioning.

"Impossible," Vegeta proclaimed.

Now things were no longer adding up and Vegeta didn't like that.

"I was," Ace declared, "Whether you believe me or not."

"Who sent you?" Vegeta asked moving closer to the other's position, "What game are you playing?"

"What? There's no game."

"I don't believe you!"

"You said it yourself, Vegeta! If I was lying, I should have at least come up with a better lie. Well, I'm not lying and I don't need a better lie. If my truth sounds ridiculous to you, then it must be the truth."

"Enough with your silly logic."

"But that's all I have to convince you."

"That's just too bad."

"I thought you of all people could understand logic."

"You don't know me," Vegeta replied contemptuously.

"You're Vegeta, right? Prince Vegeta of all Saiyans."

This further confused Vegeta, "Yes, I am…"

"Now how would I know that if I didn't know you?"

"Ha, please! What Saiyan doesn't know his ruler?"

"I'm surprised even that you don't know me. We're not strangers."

Vegeta took a longer look at him and went mentally down his short list of friends. No Ace. But Vegeta noticed something else about Ace's armor. Its design was quite dated even in comparison to the ones that his father used to wear—he hardly recognized it. He knew, however, that it was the armor of a lower class warrior. Vegeta would not have known him at all.

"I don't know you," Vegeta said finally, "Or else I wouldn't have asked your name before."

"You used to sneak out of the palace and meet me at a nearby landmark," Ace continued.

While Vegeta had snuck out of the palace when he was younger, it was with Nappa—the only person besides his father he had been associated with.

"I don't recall."

"You gave me this armor before I left for this mission."

"You must have the wrong Saiyan Prince. I would never waste my money on the likes of you."

Unless Vegeta was suffering from a mild case of amnesia, Ace was an unknown Saiyan in his book. Just like Turles, just like Paragus, and Broly…

"How many Saiyan Princes could there be?"

But Vegeta's attention had shifted and Ace followed his gaze up to the azure sky. Was he admiring its beauty, Ace thought at first, of course not. Instead, a small dot came into view and it became larger and larger.

"I've been waiting here for hours and now that clown decides to show up."

Ace looked at Vegeta questioningly—it was as if he was speaking in another language. Finally Vegeta returned his gaze.

"Go wait in the house," Vegeta ordered, "We'll get this settled later. When I come back, you better have your story straight."

It wasn't uncommon to Ace to be ordered around by a higher ranking Saiyan, but he had been on better terms with the Prince. He glared at the other and then stalked off into the house with the old man. No, this was not the Prince Vegeta that he had remembered.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Ace said exasperatedly to the old man.

The old man seemed ready to bolt at any moment. In his defense, Ace had seemed ill-tempered.

"So…you're _not_ going to destroy Earth?"

"No," Ace replied in irritation. It seemed like the inhabitants of Earth had had a bad run with Saiyans—Ace wasn't too surprised of this fact. Vegeta had initially asked the same question. "Tell me your name."

"It's Master Master Roshi."

"Master Roshi, tell me, is the man standing outside really Prince Vegeta?"

"As long as I can remember—and he likes to remind people of that too."

"Are you sure? He acts as if he's never known me."

"Look, son, there's no use in trying to figure that man out. You'd be better off getting information out of Bulma."

"Who's Bulma?"

"That's his wife."

On the subject of Saiyan sounding names, "Bulma" ranked pretty low on that list. Vegeta had seemed so concerned about his name that it was a wonder that a woman named Bulma would be his wife.

Ace watched as Master Roshi made his way over to the window.

"From the looks of things, I'll be lucky if my house is still standing."

Curious, Ace joined him at the window to look at the scene.

"That's Bardock," Ace said with surprise.

Just a few minutes ago, Vegeta seemed as if he would never in a million years associate himself with a lower class warrior yet here was talking (well, more like arguing) with Bardock. Yet something seemed off.

Ace wouldn't have caught Bardock dead wearing clothes with such a jovial combination of colors. And his skin tone—it was lighter than usual. Even more, his voice sounded far too friendly and…un-Saiyan-like. Ace watched as the Prince moved into his familiar fighting stance and as the taller Saiyan did the same. They were going to spar.

They stood at a standstill for a few passing moments, but then they began to circle each other; one daring the other to throw the first punch. The tension hung heavy in the air. Of course, Vegeta was the one who felt obligated to "break the silence". In the blink of an eye, Vegeta sent a ki blast directly at the other's face. This move, however, was quite predictable to Goku who had by now noted Vegeta's tendency to use an excessive amount of ki blasts. Goku swatted the initial one away like it was a fly and evaded the next three. He caught the last one and threw it back at a vaguely surprised Vegeta who dodged it easily.

Vegeta preferred his enemies at a distance so he could treat them like target practice with a plethora of ki blasts. From one outstretched hand sparked an abundant display of fireworks. Goku glided up into the sky as the light trail began to follow him. Goku was caught slightly off guard when Vegeta threw a solitary ki blast from his other hand far in front of all the others. With his instantaneous transmission, Goku evaded this one as well.

"You're going to have to try better than that," Goku called in a playfully teasing way in the sky.

"You just wait!"

It just wasn't a real spar until Vegeta officially lost his temper. Of course, Goku could tell that the other was trying _not_ to do that, but it was inevitable. It was simply in his nature and Goku thought he had perfected the art of bringing it out: Instantaneous Transmission. Used continuously and Vegeta would eventually get ticked off.

Meanwhile, Ace watched all this with aw. They moved so quickly, so smoothly; Ace knew that they must be well seasoned fighters. The spar moved from innocent fun to serious hand to hand combat right before Ace's eyes. That was when he knew for certain that these two were not Bardock and the Vegeta he once knew—their fighting styles were starkly different.

But Master Roshi wasn't so much interested in this fight than he was Ace. Master Roshi had witnessed countless "spars" between Goku and Vegeta and, believe it or not, they had gotten monotonous. Ace intrigued him more. Who was this strange Saiyan standing beside him? At the moment, Ace was concentrated on the fight—Master Roshi was not surprised of this fact. If he knew anything about Saiyans, it was that they loved to see a good duel almost as much as they liked being in one. Ace was completely mesmerized.

"Look how fast the tall one moves—it's as if he appears out of thin air. I don't know how Vegeta is even able to keep up," Ace commented.

"By guessing, I suppose," Master Roshi said knowingly.

"Guessing?" Ace asked incredulously.

"Well, if you fight the same person long enough, you begin to pick up on the other's M.O. and even predict what the next move can be."

"You'd have to be fighting that person on a daily basis for that."

"Indeed," Master Roshi agreed, "And that's exactly the case."

Ace was quiet for a moment as his eyes continued to take in the escalating fight.

"I'm sure that has to be a little boring," Ace finally answered.

"No way. I'd say, to them, it was exciting. They improve a little each time they spar—they learn something new."

"Like what?"

"Like their breaking point. How much can they really withstand? What strategy is more effective? Is their technique efficient enough to do any real damage? Questions like those get answered each time."

"I don't see anything wrong with either of their technique. Vegeta seems to be losing though…and I don't think he's too happy about that."

"When has he ever been happy about such things?"

"You have a point," Ace agreed before realizing that it was quite possible that they were talking about two different Vegetas.

"So, kid, how exactly did you get here?" Master Roshi asked finally.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's quite impossible for you to have been raised on Planet Vegeta and be so young unless something else happened."

Ace looked at him thoughtfully, "Planet Vegeta has really been gone for that long?"

"Last time I checked."

"But I'm not lying unless my mind is playing tricks on me."

"Let's start slowly then," Master Roshi began, "What happened at the beginning of the day?"

"Well…I was waking up…" Ace stated uncertainly, but then he paused when things began to click.

"What is it?" Master Roshi implored.

"I remember feeling really wet like someone had dumped a bunch of water on me and the sun was so bright…"

"Where were you?" Master Roshi asking leading him on.

"Some place where there was a lot of ice," Ace answered, he didn't know the word "tundra". "It's strange though, my ship was underwater and it already seemed to be rusting away like it's been there for a long time."

"Maybe it _has_ been there for a long time. Something must have happened to you."

Ace looked at the other thoughtfully, but the scenario of being preserved inside a sheet of ice was far too implausible for it to come to his mind at the moment.

"I don't know…what happened to me, but I'm here now. I guess that's all that counts now."

"I suppose so."

Master Roshi wasn't entirely satisfied by this conclusion, but it would have to do—he could tell that Ace no longer wanted to speak on the matter. Ace's attention had already averted back to the duel—there was a strange excitement in his eyes as if he too wanted to jump into the fray. The two fighters outside eventually went out of view and Ace opted to step outside to get a better look. Master Roshi followed out of pure curiosity.

"Master Roshi, how long do you think this will last?" Ace asked the other.

"For awhile."

"Watching them fight—makes me want to join as well. Do you think they'd mind?"

"I don't think it'd be a good idea to fight them…"

"What's wrong? You don't think I'll be able to keep up?"

"Exactly."

"Don't worry about that."

"But they're far stronger than they look. They can increase their power exponentially."

"So can I."

"W-what? Are you talking about ascension to the next level?" Master Roshi gawked.

The original Saiyans were never able to do such things because they had not discovered the merits of intense training. There were, of course, exceptions to the rules like Turles who had gained power from special fruits or Broly who had been naturally born with an extraordinary power level. Could Ace be an exception as well? If so, it was nice that the possibility of him joining the Z-fighters was still open for a change. Immense power often begot evil as was with Broly, Frieza, Kid Buu, Turles, and so on.

"You know, I didn't peg you as a person who would know about things like that. Then they can transform as well?"

"Of course they can, they've been able do so for years."

"That's amazing. Then it is possible for another Saiyan to do it. All these years…I thought I was alone in that. This should be interesting."

Ace began to glide up into the air.

"Ace, wait!"

"Yes, Master Roshi," Ace answered exasperatedly.

"Be careful. Picking a fight with Goku and Vegeta is no walk in the park."

"Goku and Vegeta," Ace repeated to himself. Then he responded to Master Roshi, "That's what I'm hoping for. I'd like a chance to actually face a challenge for once in my life."

Ace shot through the air to the two moving forms in the distance before Master Roshi could say anymore. Between the two of them, Goku was the most surprised when he sensed another incoming Saiyan. He had been so concentrated on Vegeta, that he hadn't sensed the presence of Ace. Vegeta, on the other hand, wore an irritated look. Hadn't he told the Saiyan to stay _inside_? Was it too bold of a request? It wasn't as if Vegeta had told the other to go jump off a bridge or something.

Despite Goku's surprise and Vegeta's annoyance, they were completely ready for his arrival by the time he finally got there. Ace took this as further proof that he had made the right decision by interrupting. Little did he know that they had simply sensed him coming.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Master Roshi tells me that you two can already transform."

Goku glanced at Vegeta with a confused expression.

"Well, Master Roshi would be correct, but what's it to you, Ace?" Vegeta asked.

Now Goku felt completely out of the loop. Since when did Vegeta have a friend named Ace and how did Master Roshi know about this and he didn't?"

"I can as well—

"Ha! Yeah right," Vegeta said at once.

"I can," Ace repeated, "And I have no problem proving it."

And that drew a rather serious expression from the Prince's face. Goku's expression? Simply curious. By now he was so full of questions that he didn't know where to start—in fact, he asked nothing at all.

"I want a two on one battle," Ace declared.

"Wouldn't that be a little unfair?" Goku asked at last saying something.

"Trust me, it won't be."

"Alright then," Goku said satisfied with the answer, "Vegeta, I guess we better get ready."

Goku was simply excited at the prospects of a challenging fight. Gone were all his burning questions.

"Get ready for what?" Vegeta asked in a tone that only slightly dampened Goku's mood, "I'm not going to waste my energy on a fool who thinks he can take on both of us at once."

"Remember Broly? Frieza? Remember—

"Alright, alright, I get your point," Vegeta said roughly.

These were examples of fights that Vegeta had mistakenly thought were easy, but had either ended up killing him or leaving him badly wounded. Goku wondered if the other experienced nightmares from the kind of cruel defeats he had suffered over the years. If there was one thing Goku knew Vegeta was good at, it was taking a punch. He was somewhat more reliable than Gohan in that respect…

"Are you two going to talk all day?" Ace asked finally growing impatient. He too felt the anticipation.

"Don't you two seem eager," Vegeta grumbled, "Alright, let's go, _Saiyan_."

Vegeta hadn't liked Goku's haunting reminders, but he was game if Goku was (or so he tried to convince himself). A growing sense of dread began to plague him and only increased exponentially along with Ace's skyrocketing ki level.

"Shit," Vegeta said under his breath.

As Ace's cries echoed inhumanely into the air, Vegeta began to repeat the same phrase over and over again in his mind: "I'm the Prince of Saiyans." It was oddly comforting yet bittersweet. He could be the Prince all he wanted—a very soundly beaten one after a few minutes.

"Hey, Vegeta, you okay?" Goku asked.

Vegeta didn't like the concern he heard in the other's voice, "Yeah, fine."

What a lie. Anyone could tell that Vegeta was getting a little pallid.

"You're not thinking of bailing out on me, are you?" Goku ventured.

"No, of course not!" Vegeta answered a little too loudly.

The wind that Ace's powering up was drawing was getting to be an obstacle in itself. Vegeta and Goku instinctively moved further away.

"The way things look now, I say we skip the first level," Goku suggested.

"You think?!" Vegeta cried sardonically.

As if on cue, the two simultaneously burst into their Super Saiyan forms and then quickly slid into their second forms—a simple task that took little energy for them. Ace, on the other hand, wasted a lot more energy similar to Future Trunks' inexperienced ascension, but that didn't matter—Ace had plenty of energy to spare. Goku and Vegeta needed all the ki they could muster. Lightning sparked at quick intervals around their explosive auras. Ace's was far more explosive; sparks flew nonstop around his red aura. By the time he was finished powering up, he looked unrecognizable.

At least he didn't look like someone on steroids like Broly had appeared. He was much smaller than that. In fact, he was the same height of Goku. Yet his hair was spikey and crimson, some of it falling over his left eye. His lips had turned a deep black color and grinned challengingly at the other two combatants.

Without further discussion, the fight began and Ace went for Goku first. The only thing Goku could do at the moment was defend himself—and he was lucky to be able to do this. Ace's movements were quick and sure; Goku knew that Ace would soon break through his defenses.

Vegeta took this opportunity to unleash a barrage of ki blasts all of which struck Ace, but had no effect. Ace turned to him briefly and launched a significantly larger ki blast at Vegeta. While Vegeta was occupied trying to deflect the attack, Goku utilized his Instant Transmission to appear in an unexpected position in order to release an even larger ki blast. Goku hadn't expected Ace to fade out of the way and he was thrust headlong into the clear water below by none other than Ace.

Vegeta by now had simply dashed out of the blast's way when he realized he couldn't possibly deflect it. He did not escape unscathed, however, but it was enough so that he was still standing. There was only one problem—where was Ace? Before he even began to look around for the assailant, he began to power up a rather powerful Galick Gun. Ace was going to appear any minute now…any minute now…

Goku looked up from his lower position (in the water) and watched as a large explosion went off. The light show was near blinding, but in the end, Goku watched the small body of Vegeta zipping through the air in the distance. He fell with a large splash. Now Goku too was faced with the same dilemmas as Vegeta—where was Ace? Goku flashed back into the sky using Instant Transmission extensively. His senses were alert for Ace's ki signature—and then he felt it. Right behind him, but Goku was lucky, he had been in the process of fading out again and this time Ace's attack missed its mark. When Goku could, he unleashed a brief barrage of ki blasts at Ace's last known location. They had all missed their mark. Then Ace appeared directly in front of him. Goku tried to attack first, but Ace was faster.

Whatever defense Goku had before was utterly lost and he was forced to take the attacks head on until the rain of attacks ceased in midstream. It took Goku a moment to realize that Vegeta had managed to get a firm grip around Ace's neck. Ace was forced to waste precious minutes trying to unhand Vegeta. In that same moment, Goku was able to get off a hefty Kamehameha wave.

To Goku's disbelief, his attack had been dodged completely by Ace and had instead struck Vegeta head-on. Vegeta was able to handle it well enough; getting struck by a Kamehameha was nothing new to the Saiyan Prince. In Goku's brief moment of looking to see if Vegeta was alright, Ace was now positioned directly above them.

Goku and Vegeta noticed this fact at the same moment and a little too late to dodge the incoming red energy wave. Goku had a plan before he even knew he had one and tackled Vegeta while simultaneously teleporting them to another safe location. Even then, they had not escaped the full brunt of the blast…but they were still alive.

They only had a brief moment to breathe before Ace suddenly appeared in front of them once again. Vegeta already had his arms up in defense, but Goku had other ideas.

"Wait, Ace, we give up," Goku said.

"What!" Vegeta said sharply.

"Well, yeah. This is just a spar, right? Not a fight to the death," Goku continued.

"Sure, it _is_ a spar," Ace agreed, "But I thought you might want to continue. Most Saiyans don't last half as long as you two did."

"Of course not. With your power, you could wipe out the rest of the Z-fighters in no time," Goku replied.

"That sounds strangely like a compliment," Ace said.

"That's 'cus it is," Vegeta said with more than a little contempt, "You said you came from Planet Vegeta, right?"

"Yes," Ace answered.

"Do you still intend to follow through with your orders to destroy Earth?"

"Why? You plan on stopping me?" Ace teased.

"Don't push me. Maybe I will," Vegeta said back.

"I thought we were all friends. C'mon, you don't really want to do that, do you Ace? Then we really _would_ have to stop you—and I don't want that to happen," Goku said.

Ace laughed at this. "You guys are actually serious. Even after that pitiful display, you want to tell me what I can or can't do."

"That was just a spar," Goku said simply, "Things change when you have something you're fighting for."

"I don't see the logic," Ace replied.

"You wouldn't," Vegeta said in a belittling tone.

"What was that?" Ace said sharply.

Goku glanced over at Vegeta with an I-wouldn't-make-him-angry look.

"What Vegeta means to say is that unless you've ever experienced such circumstances, you wouldn't really understand," Goku clarified.

"Maybe you're right," Ace said thoughtfully.

They were still in their ascended forms as they talked. Master Roshi who was simply looking up from his house wondered what exactly was taking place. Were they about to break out in a scuffle again—or were they finally calling it quits? Master Roshi watched as the three Saiyans stood still for a few more minutes and then as they glided down again and landed on Master Roshi's island.

It was made clear to Master Roshi (and to everyone else) that Ace was not going to be the harbinger of doom to Earth's very existence, but instead he was going to live here—an incredible revelation to Goku and Vegeta. Vegeta, though he didn't say it aloud, was more concerned about whether Ace would be able to adjust. Everything appeared to be kosher now, but would he be able to handle an extended stay?

Traveling to different planets could often be exciting if not a little entertaining. It was more like a vacation and soon he would be going back home waiting for the time he would be sent out once again. Home—Planet Vegeta—was probably the most stable part of his existence; it was simply a place that was always there unlike the planet he had just finished destroying all life on.

One day, Vegeta thought, it would hit him at an arbitrary moment; it would finally dawn on him even if he consciously knew it. Sometimes the gravity of an occurrence could be too much to fully grasp all at the same time. One could understand, but not truly understand until sometime later. One day he'd realize that he would never be in a ship en route to Planet Vegeta. There would be no more missions. Life as he knew it would cease. Any sense of normalcy would have to be reconditioned to the "normal" that was Earth.


End file.
